Julius had feared as much from the moment he’d spotted them, but hearing it confirmed still sent him into a cold terror. “How?” he demanded. “She went in with a general, Great Britain’s royal sorcerer, and I presume the Raven spirit.” He glanced at Raven, who nodded. “How is it that you’re all here and Marci isn’t?!”
“Because we weren’t Algonquin’s targets,” General Jackson said sharply. “She knew exactly where we’d be. This whole thing was a trap.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” Julius said. “I know Algonquin’s on the warpath, but I’m nothing compared to the other dragons she’s killed. Why would she go through the trouble of setting a trap for Marci? Is it revenge for Vann Jeger?”
“Vann Jeger has nothing to do with it,” the mage, Sir Myron, said with a sneer. “And for once, neither do dragons. Algonquin grabbed the Novalli girl because she’s bound to a Mortal Spirit, which gives her the potential to become the first Merlin.”
He said this with great gravitas, but Julius was more lost than ever. “You mean Merlin as in King Arthur’s wizard?”
Myron’s reply was a look that said volumes about the depth of Julius’s ignorance. When he turned to his siblings, though, they looked as lost as he was. The only one who did seem to have a clue was Svena, who exploded out of her seat.
“The cat is a Mortal Spirit?”
The whole table jumped, but Svena didn’t even seem to notice. She was too busy clenching her fists in rage. “Sothat’swhat she was doing,” she growled, baring her teeth. “Why, that sneaky, shameless, alcoholicsnake!I’ll turn her into a red feather boa for this!”
Now Myron lookedveryinterested. “Red feathers?” he said, leaning over the table. “You mean the Planeswalker? What did she do?”
“That is none of your concern, mortal,” Svena sneered, looking down her nose at him. “You deserve nothing. You lot are the ones who let Algonquin steal the first Merlin.”
“But we’re not going to let her keep her,” General Jackson said firmly, turning to Julius. “That’s why we’re here. We need your help to rescue Marci.”
“Absolutely,” Julius said without hesitation. “But would someone explain this Merlin thing to me? Marci’s told me about Mortal Spirits, but she’s never said anything about Merlins.”
“That’s because she didn’t know about them until today,” Myron said, glancing at his watch. “Well, yesterday now, I suppose.”
“Of course she didn’t know,” Svena said. “Even dragons have forgotten.” She turned to the Heartstrikers. “Merlins are the only human mages capable of standing up to us. I’ve fought a handful, and they were obnoxious in the extreme. Even Estella avoided them.”
“And Marci’s one?” Julius said, swelling with pride. “Iknewshe was good!”
“More like lucky,” Myron said with surprising bitterness. “It’s her connection to the spirit that makes her special.”
“Lucky isn’t the word I’d use,” Raven said, shaking his head. “No one should have to endure being the object of Algonquin’s ambitions. But getting back to the point.” He looked at Svena. “What’s Amelia’s interest in Marci?”
“Nice try, bird,” the dragoness said with a sniff. “The Planeswalker might be my enemy, butI would never be so gauche as to gossip about another dragon’s business with a common animal spirit, even ifshewas tasteless enough to dally with one.”
“Careful, Svena,” Raven warned. “If you keep your nose in the air too long, it’ll stick that way.”
Svena was opening her mouth for a comeback when Julius cut her short. “Enough,” he said, frustrated. “You guys can bicker all you want later. Right now, we’ve got to save Marci.”
“Agreed,” General Jackson said. “I’m not sure why she took her, other than to get her away from us, but Algonquin absolutely must not be allowed to possess the first Merlin. We have to get her back.”
“Then why come to us?” Chelsie asked, eyeing the general suspiciously. “I know you. You’re the Phoenix. Your job is to fight monsters like us. It seems odd that you’d come to us for help rather than just phoning in an air strike.”
“I could phone in a lot more than that, Bethesda’s Shade,” the general growled. “But there’s the matter of time. The United Nations is a diplomatic organization, and Algonquin is a sovereign power. Even with her numerous crimes and human rights violations, it would take me a week at least to line up the proper clearances for a secret sortie into Reclamation Land. But the Heartstrikers have no such red tape. You can movenow, and since you have as big a stake in Marci Novalli’s safety as we do, it seemed like a natural alliance.”
“That’s a lot of assumptions,” Ian said with a cold look. “But Heartstriker is not yours to order around. Algonquin’s declared war on our kind. We’re not going to risk our necks to save a mortal—”
“I’m in,” Julius said firmly. “What do we do first?”
“Julius!” Ian hissed. “Maybe sitting on the Council’s gone to your head already, but you can’t just unilaterally—”
“I’m not speaking for the Council,” Julius snapped. “I’m speaking for me. The rest of you can do what you want.I’mgoing to save Marci.”
Ian bared his teeth. “You willnot. I didn’t just move heaven and earth to make this Council happen so one third of it could go off and get himself killed the same night!”
“He won’t be,” Chelsie said. “Because I’m going with him.”
Julius stared at her in shock, but his sister just shrugged. “I didn’t do all that work keeping you alive just to let you die now, either,” she said. “And besides, I owe your human for her help during the Vann Jeger fight. Saving her from Algonquin now will make us even.”
